Notice the gray blur on the wall? Those are amazing decals we had made of each boy’s name, which are secrets until their birth. I’ll trade out these photos for the ones with their names after I give birth.

Cribs are from IKEA and are amazing because they have two drawers underneath each one. This saves us from having to buy a crib skirt and also provides us with some extra storage. The mobiles and whale painting were splurges from Buy Buy Baby, but they matched too perfectly to pass up.

Because the closet in this room is smaller than most people’s refrigerators, I added some hooks to the left of the window. Right now, I have hung a few toys and teethers, but these silver command hooks will work well for the boys’ hats, or whatever else they have that can be hung!

I fell in love with these unpainted wooden letters from Etsy, and with the help of my sister and mother, we painted, washi taped, and decorated the alphabet. Then I hung them using the easiest Command 3M Picture Hangers.

The glider is from Target, and so are the curtains and valance.

These dressers are from IKEA and came with “adult-looking” metal knobs. I purchased some plain wooden knobs from Amazon and painted them blue with yellow dots or yellow with blue dots. I think it spruces up the dressers well, and makes them a little more kid-friendly.

Instead of a changing table, we’re using one of the wooden dressers. The other dresser is acting as a bookshelf for board books. Above the changing table is a pegboard which acts both as a diaper changing storage area and a gallery wall. The empty space on the left is for newborn photos.

This nursery pegboard was a DIY, made from a white pegboard from Lowes, cut to size. My husband hung it using a pegboard kit from Ace Hardware. The baskets holding the diapers and wipes are from IKEA. Pegboard hooks are also from Ace. I used clothespins and twist ties to make the two “picture areas” (one holding a photo and the other holding their baby shower invite) and this makes it very easy to change the images.

The small whales are from Michaels and crafted with washi tape. The bowties are just tiny pieces of fabric, created using an online tutorial and some hot glue. The bucket was in Target’s dollar section, spray painted white, and washi taped. The framed whale is made from a wooden frame, fabric, and felt from Hobby Lobby.

Our goal was to create a nursery suitable for babies but that also have the capability to grow with the boys as they get a little older. The pegboard can be completely redone, the alphabet taken down, and the dressers can easily be painted.

I received this book from TLC Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review.

From the author of the New York Times bestseller A Train in Winter comes the fascinating story of a French village that helped save thousands hunted by the Gestapo during World War II.

I mean, that hooks me right there. I’m a sucker for Jewish lit/nonfiction and Holocaust books as well, especially non-traditional ones, like where it’s about something lesser known, like the resistance in France.

Here’s another piece to the description:

High up in the mountains of the southern Massif Central in France lie tiny, remote villages united by a long and particular history. During the Second World War, the inhabitants of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon and its parishes saved thousands wanted by the Gestapo: resisters, Freemasons, communists, and, above all, Jews, many of them orphans whose parents had been deported to concentration camps. There were no informers, no denunciations, and no one broke ranks. During raids, the children would hide in the woods, their packs on their backs, waiting to hear the farmers’ song that told them it was safe to return. After the war, Le Chambon became one of only two places in the world to be honored by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among Nations.

Village of Secrets by Caroline Moorehead is reminiscent of another book I read by her, Train in Winter, and 50 Children by Steven Pressman. The story is a historically heavy nonfictional account of the Nazi resistance in France, specifically by a small mountain town.

While I enjoyed reading Village of Secrets, I found that because of the heavy historical aspect, I couldn’t fully get into the story. However, this is not a Village of Secrets issue. I always have a tough time with storyline when a book is very heavy-handed on the historical aspects. Many dates, names, etc, usually confuse me more than they help me with the story. So if historically heavy reads do not scare you, then this is a great book to pick up. It tells a lesser-known story of some amazing people doing the right thing.

Check out the rest of the tour stops and more information about the book!

I’m a huge fan of kindness, and I think a little goes a long way. For instance, every morning on my AM walks, I wave at each person I see and every car. I’m amazed at how many people in their cars stare at me but don’t wave back. I’m not asking for a donation, here, just a hello!

But then there are those people who always wave back, who say good morning, and it really does make my day.

No matter what kind of mood you’re in, what your life is like, kindness is not only always fashionable, but most of the time, it’s super easy!

30 Authors in 30 Days is a first of its kind event aimed at connecting readers, bloggers, and authors. Hosted by The Book Wheel, this month-long event takes place during September and features 30 authors discussing their favorite recent reads on 30 different blogs. For the full schedule of participating authors and bloggers, visit The Book Wheel.

Author Adria J. Cimino on The Art of Falling by Kathryn Craft

Photo Credit: Author website

Expressing one art form through another always intrigues me. In this case, Kathryn Craft choreographs with words to create dance, to bring graceful movement to each page of this well-written novel. Movement controls Penny’s heart and soul, even when she struggles to execute the smallest steps after her fall or faces the tough realities of the world of dance. As the reader, I was quickly following her footsteps, dancing with her through her moments of despair and hope.

Penny herself is an admirable character. She is strong, disciplined and has a soft side that allows itself to slip forth at the most important times. Her main weakness is the view that she has of herself as she looks at the “perfect” bodies of the slimmer dancers. This novel deals brilliantly with the issues of body image and eating disorders, which although are particularly prominent in dance, also are relevant well beyond. Penny realizes she must conquer this lack of self-assurance and must believe in her talent if she hopes to truly rebuild her life.

I am a dance lover, but you don’t have to be to enjoy The Art of Falling. This novel reaches farther as it explores relationships that are a part of all of our lives: Mother-daughter, friendship, love, mentor-student. How lives touch is an integral part of the book. And each character feels very real. Penny’s relationship with her mother as well as the friendship she builds with a young women suffering from cystic fibrosis are particularly poignant.

Failure, regret, discovery, joy and forgiveness weave through the lives of the characters, separating them at certain points and bringing them back together. If I close my eyes, I can see this as a work of modern dance set to the music of words.

Author Bio

Photo Credit: Goodreads

Adria J. Cimino is the author of Paris, Rue des Martyrs, the story of four troubled strangers whose lives entwine in a Parisian neighborhood. Adria lives in Paris and enjoys sharing her adventures in the city and thoughts about the writing life in her blog Adria in Paris.

Previously, she worked as a journalist for more than a decade at news organizations including the Associated Press and Bloomberg News. Adria, who grew up in the sunshine, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Florida.

Island of a Thousand Mirrors by Nayomi Munaweera is a story told about two opposing sides over the course of decades that surrounded the Sri Lankan civil war.

A quick summary explains this complex-in-a-fabulous-way storyline:

Yasodhara tells the tale of her own Sinhala clan first. As a child in idyllic Colombo, her life is shaped by social hierarchy, her parents’ ambitions, teenage love and most importantly, the differences between the Tamil and Sinhala people who share the island. When peace is shattered, Yasodhara’s family flees to Los Angeles.

Saraswathi is living in the active war zone of Sri Lanka, with hopes to become a teacher. But her dreams are abruptly stamped out when she is arrested by a group of Sinhala soldiers and pulled into the heart of the conflict. A conflict that will eventually connect her to Yasodhara in in unexpected ways.

Island of a Thousand Mirrors was complicated and intense, but also really moving. I was captivated by the storylines of each woman, of Sri Lanka’s civil war, and of the daily life. I was devastated and shocked by the ending (as only a good author can make you feel) and can’t stop thinking of this book.

Munaweera does not tell a happy tale. She tells a REAL tale, reminiscent of NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names and Uwem Akpan’s Say You’re One of Them. None of these books are “happy” but they are gritty, real, moving, and what reading is about.

Not a fan of real and gritty? Well, try it out and follow it up with a happy story after.

Losing St. Christopher is the second book in the Cherokee Trilogy, but can also be read independently. If you didn’t read the first book, Cherokee Talisman, yeah, you’ll miss stuff, but you will also be able to enjoy a fully formed novel.

In Losing St. Christopher, Totsuhwa, the revered shaman of the Cherokee Nation, struggles against the assimilation of his people into the white world of men he sees as invaders. The colonists, along with Cherokee who are trying to bridge both worlds, see him as a barbarous threat. When Totsuhwa’s visions show him the outcome, it is as black as his deep set haunting eyes. Chancellor, his son, takes a white wife following study at a missionary school and the shaman’s fears seem realized. Conflicts between cultures and within the family erupt when Totsuhwa’s only grandchild is forced onto the Trail of Tears. In the chase that follows, an estranged love fights to stem the ugly flow of racism that is moving in two directions.

Losing St. Christopher was a high-interest book. There are elements of both positive and negative attitudes toward the Native Americans, and I enjoyed how Harding exhibited mixed marriages as well as white people who were willing to do anything to help their neighbors in need.

Basically, I was hooked. Chancellor is a very powerful character, educated in both the white and Cherokee ways, which can cause conflict when he chooses certain ways to deal with issues. But at the same time, he’s a caring, loyal son and friend, and eventually father.

I recommend Losing St. Christopher! But here’s a warning: Grab a tissue for the last 3 pages because there is such a heartfelt ending that you can’t help but leak out some tears!

And don’t forget, I also read and loooooved How Angels Die by David-Michael Harding, which is a historical fiction novel about two French sisters who resist the Nazis in valuable, but very different, ways.